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Deep Inside Sehee Research Institute, Gray Reaper Isolation Room.

Yerin was holding a Gray Reaper in her arms while watching an internet broadcast on her phone.

It was a broadcast she had seen briefly during the Association Doll Rampage incident.

After finishing the broadcast, the man was lying in bed wrapped in bandages all over his body.

[Hello. To be honest, I didn’t plan on broadcasting, but it seems many of you are curious.]

Yerin nodded slightly at those words.

Though few had watched the broadcast, anyone who did would likely think so.

[‘Click. Click. Click.’]

A voice followed the rhythmic sound of a doorknob turning three times.

[“Bachelor from Room 405. Open the door.”]

This pattern was the ‘humanification’ pattern announced by James Research Institute.

Moreover, the newly formed ‘Object Safety Management Council’ uncritically confirmed the content presented by James Research Institute.

His last broadcast scene left a deep impression on viewers.

The sound of a click echoed in a dark, eerie atmosphere.

And a situation where it was easy to predict what would happen next.

Perhaps because of that, his broadcast quickly became a hot topic online, and many people began to screenshot the scene and spread it as a meme.

It seemed a considerable number of people were curious about the man’s survival, prompting him to turn on the broadcast.

[As many of you suspect, it was indeed a trap by the dolls.]

[After shutting off the broadcast and moving the wardrobe blocking the entrance, when I opened the door, there were dolls swarming behind the lady.]

[At that moment, cold sweat ran down my back, and I thought, ‘Ah, this is it for me.’]

The man on the bed was narrating his story coherently, but Yerin couldn’t focus on his words.

Something small was writhing in the corner of the screen.

A cute object peeked its black face from behind the bed, saw itself reflected on the screen, and startledly hid back behind the bed.

It was the Black Reaper.

But even though the Black Reaper was hiding, a small black finger was sticking out over the backrest of the bed.

Perhaps it was hanging on to the headboard?

Maybe the Black Reaper was getting bored waiting, as it peeked out every five seconds.

Because of that, the viewers began to notice the presence of the Black Reaper and started to chat.

[So, just before I got caught, I jumped out of the window. It was six stories high, so it was a gamble, but thankfully, I survived. Huh? The Black Reaper?]

The man turned his head toward the backrest after seeing the chat.

Just then, the Black Reaper, who had been peeking out shyly, met the man’s gaze and gave a sheepish smile.

[Ah, I told you to hide, but you popped out instead.]

The man reached out, placed the Black Reaper on his palm, and held it up to the phone camera.

[I intended to show you after finishing the story, but let me introduce it now.]

[This is the Black Reaper who saved me when my leg was broken, and I couldn’t escape!]

As he introduced the Black Reaper, he gently stroked its head.

The Black Reaper looked blissful, perhaps because the man was petting its head.

Then, the man brought the Black Reaper’s face closer to the camera and started to brag.

[Can you see its teeth? Sharp, but a bit cute, right?]

Seeing that, Yerin turned off the broadcast and placed her hand on the Gray Reaper’s head.

“Still, it’s a relief. That man is alive, and the Black Reaper managed to save its Attached Human.”

Though the Black Reaper smiled innocently as if it didn’t know anything, it must have truly tried its best to save that man.

Just imagining how hard it must have struggled to block the Association Dolls swarming from all directions was staggering.

Yerin enjoyed the touch of the Gray Reaper’s antenna tickling under her chin and suddenly recalled a story to share.

“Speaking of which, something strange happened.”

The Gray Reaper’s antenna, which had been swaying, stopped as if to encourage Yerin to continue.

“After the Association Doll incident ended and I returned home, it was a complete mess. However, strangely enough, there were piles of smashed dolls inside the house.”

It was hard to believe that the Golden Reaper came to eliminate them, while it was also odd to think that the White Hungry Ghost did it.

“What could it have been?”

Hearing Yerin’s words, the Gray Reaper spun its antenna as if to say, ‘I don’t know either!’

*

Where Sehee Research Institute meets the Mini Reaper Garden.

That place had been closed when the Purple External Being attacked, but it reopened once the Purple External Being vanished.

Likewise, the pinwheels from around the world began spinning again, transporting the Mini Reapers eager to find their Attached Humans.

Perhaps the previous incident was shockingly impactful, as Mini Reapers were lingering at the boundary between the courtyard and the Mini Reaper Garden.

For some reason, they were determined to keep the boundary from closing, even if it meant throwing themselves at it.

My kids had firewood, which should have been quite effective, but I wasn’t sure if it would be enough to block External Being-level interference.

I lay at the boundary bustling with Mini Reapers and the Mini Reaper Garden.

Half on one side, half on the other.

Lying like this felt a bit strange.

There was an odd feeling, slightly uneasy yet fascinating.

Was it because the sensation of the wind on either side of my skin was different?

While enjoying the unique feel of the boundary, I turned my gaze toward the Mini Reaper Garden and noticed the spheres floating in the sky.

Black Sphere, Unchanging Sphere.

Blue Sphere.

And a newly created Purple Sphere.

But the purple sphere was translucent like a ghost, making it invisible to anyone.

Humans obviously couldn’t see it, and neither could the Mini Reapers.

Moreover, it was a little smaller than the other spheres.

It seemed likely that it was killed before the Purple External Being was completed.

Because of that, it probably wouldn’t be possible to summon a purple giant Reaper with that translucent purple sphere.

I wanted to gather giant Reapers by color, but…

That’s a bit disappointing.

Still, there was one promising point.

The translucent purple sphere was gradually absorbing the firewood, steadily increasing in size.

And though it wasn’t exact, it felt like it was slowly becoming clearer.

It seemed like a power that wouldn’t complete properly until a certain time had passed, like unripe fruit.

Once it was fully formed, would a giant capable of using dimensional distortion emerge?

Or would the power that strengthened the dolls appear?

I felt a little excited, like playing a random draw game.

Instead of the Purple External Being’s ability that I couldn’t obtain right away, I was able to gain one ability during this incident.

Yap!

I reached out toward the Marshmallow Plains, and the marshmallows began to wriggle, and something suddenly popped out.

It was a marshmallow doll that looked like it had overheated!

Its face was bare, with no eyes, nose, or mouth, and its limbs seemed only roughly shaped.

The new ability allowed me to use firewood to summon as many of these ugly dolls as I wanted.

Moreover, the ability of these produced dolls was just at the human level.

It was quite impressive as there was no number limit, but from my standpoint, being able to summon Golden Reapers like a wave rendered it rather useless.

‘Doll!’

However, unexpectedly, I found that Mini Reapers liked that doll very much.

Inside that doll’s head was an empty cockpit-sized place, just perfect for Mini Reapers.

Even now, numerous dolls were racing around in the Mini Reaper Garden, carrying Mini Reapers.

They were either bouncing in place on the dolls or repeatedly stopping after running fast.

It looked like sports players exercising.

There was no manual or anyone to teach them, so how on earth were they controlling it?

The Mini Reapers were holding a triathlon-like race on the dolls.

They spun around the Marshmallow Plains, swam through the Sea of Hot Chocolate, and shot straight to the Snowfield!

After breaking through the Snowfield, they would climb the Candy Mountain and return to the Marshmallow Plains to finish the race.

Moreover, they even created a large screen made of droplets to broadcast the race to other Mini Reapers in the plains.

Surprisingly, the current champion was the Blue Reaper!

The Blue Reapers maneuvered those dolls incredibly well, perhaps because the cockpit had many complicated buttons.

While watching the Mini Reaper doll triathlon with the excitement of a marathon broadcast, something curious caught my eye.

A golden comet was streaking across the sky of the Mini Reaper Garden.

It passed by so fast that it was hard to see properly, but my greed radar was responding.

That thing was certainly something cool!

I got up from my spot and started to chase the comet.

Hehe.

*

Outskirts of Songpa District, near James Tower.

Alex was trudging back to his lair.

It was as if he had been tightly bound in isolation like an object and had barely managed to break free.

Alex had once been ‘humanified,’ but fortunately, he was able to regain his sanity unlike other victims of humanification.

“I’m feeling dizzy. What on earth happened?”

Alex had no recollection surrounding the Association Doll incident.

He had simply woken up after a nap, just moments ago bound in an isolation room.

It felt as though he had been subjected to severe mental pollution by an object.

Such occurrences weren’t common, but since he was well-educated, he didn’t feel that confused.

“According to the mental pollution guidelines, rest sufficiently and return, Alex.”

He only found the overly serious expression of President James strange, and it felt distinctly odd when passing by his fellow companions.

As he trudged home, he noticed the front door was broken.

No way!

Startled, Alex bolted into the house.

What he saw was his doll, brutally sprawled across the floor.

“No!!!”

With an extremely sorrowful expression, Alex laid his hand on the doll’s face.

But the doll’s face, which always radiated a gentle warmth, was cold and lifeless.

“Elizabeth….”

Alex buried his face in the doll’s head, no longer able to feel its warmth, quietly shedding tears.